Hamilton wins chaotic rain-hit Brazilian GP

Lewis Hamilton kept his Formula 1 title hopes alive by coming through treacherous conditions to win an interrupted Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver converted pole position into a first victory in Brazil, leading home team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg by 11.4s in a race which was red flagged twice.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed the final spot on the podium after a sensational drive in the closing stages saw him make up 13 positions in 16 laps.

Hamilton’s win has cut Rosberg’s championship lead to 12 points ahead of the Abu Dhabi final round from November 25-27.

“It was a very easy race,” said Hamilton.

“It was probably one of the easier ones. I didn’t have any spins or moments, it was pretty straight-forward.

“Silverstone 2008 was way harder than this.”

Heavy rain made conditions challenging prompting a delayed start when Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean crashed on his way to the grid.

The race eventually began under the Safety Car before it peeled off after eight laps allowing Hamilton to burst into a lead over Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton’s lead was wiped out when the Safety Car was called after Marcus Ericsson aquaplaned into the wall at the final corner.

Daniel Ricciardo chose to pit for intermediates under the stoppage which saw him incur a five-second penalty having entered the pitlane while it was closed.

On the restart Raikkonen speared into the wall on the main straight causing officials to bring out the red flags.

The race resumed after a 35 minute halt only to be red flagged again eight laps later due to the deteriorating conditions.

Green flags flew once again after another 30 minute halt with Hamilton leading Verstappen, who pulled a move on Rosberg for second.

Verstappen’s charge came to an end as Red Bull decided to switch its drivers to intermediate tyres, a move which backfired as rain continued to fall.

The disjointed race was halted again when Felipe Massa crashed out of his final Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Williams driver, who will retire at the end of the year, trudged back to the pits in tears with the Brazilian flag wrapped across his shoulders.

Hamilton continued to lead when the Safety Car entered the pits with 15 laps remaining with Rosberg in second after Red Bull chose to pit Verstappen and Ricciardo for wets.

While Hamilton marched to the chequered flag with a comfortable win over Rosberg, Verstappen completed a series of impressive moves from 16th to claim third.

Sergio Perez produced a storming drive to finish fourth ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who was forced to recover from an early spin at the final corner.

Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz came home in sixth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg while Ricciardo, ended up eighth after a difficult day for the Australian.

Sauber scored its first point of the season as Felipe Nasr finished ninth in front of his home crowd.

The top 10 was completed by McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, who edged the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and the Manor of Esteban Ocon.

Result: Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix

Championship Standings